Taking a page from what it calls a successful effort to break up the ‘homeless infrastructure’ in Edmonton, the UCP government is applying a similar model to Calgary and hopes it gets similar results.At a press briefing at the Salvation Army HQ in downtown Calgary on Wednesday, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon unveiled what they described as a ‘one-stop shop’ to steer disadvantaged people into recovery.Nixon said a similar ”navigation” centre in the capital city resulted in the removal of more than 700 encampments and helped steer nearly 1,500 people on the road to recovery..Leaving people to suffer is not compassion, it's cruelty. It's indifference to suffering. It's giving up and that's not something that our government can support.Premier Danielle Smith.In addition to helping the disadvantaged, Edmonton’s downtown core is infinitely safer, he said.“And if anybody thinks that process has not worked, I would encourage you partake to take a walk in the ice district in Edmonton right now as we watch the Stanley Cup playoffs… or Jasper Avenue where you'll see that there has been a significant difference in the city.”The irony is that Wednesday’s media event took place near Calgary’s infamous ‘Crack Alley’ within sight of the equally infamous St. Louis Hotel. Although it’s not nearly as destitute these days, the alleyways and sidewalks where the premier entered the building were still filled with homeless people scrounging cigarette butts and pop bottles..Nixon‘s own personal experience with homelessness came through his father Pat, who arrived in Calgary in the 1970s as a homeless youth. He eventually went on to found the Mustard Seed shelter. Jason served as its executive director from 2006-2011..He said the amount of effort put in by governments, including the cities of Calgary and Edmonton, was unimaginable even 10 years ago and credited Premier Smith for her dedication to investing in people and rehabilitation.“We've never would have dreamed when I was at the Mustard Seed that there would be a government investing this much into recovery. And so what that means is we now have to take a step back in that field and say how do we connect to that?”It means combining the efforts of half a dozen ministries and agencies to provide basic necessities like beds, hot showers and even coffee. But even something as simple as providing government issued IDs is a “huge” step in allowing homeless people to access even basic government supports.Since it was opened in Edmonton in the fall, more than 1,250 people have been issued ID cards that allow them do things like get a healthcare card and even file taxes.It also in turn prevents them from being taken advantage of by criminals and gangs. Nixon said the Edmonton experience has shown that more than 90% of referrals have maintained housing and participation in recovery programs.Calgary’s centre will be open in July. Similar centres will be opened in native communities and First Nations outside Edmonton and Calgary. Full costs weren’t disclosed — because they don’t know exactly how much money it will take to fully operate — but Calgary social service agencies receive about $42 million a year. Nixon said it’s more of a reorganization of existing services. But it all adds up to a huge rethink of how government is tackling issues like poverty and addiction.Both Smith and Nixon conceded Calgary and Edmonton have different issues to the same basic problem. Whereas Edmonton’s was focussed more on encampments, Calgary has bigger issues with public transit and public safety.But the result is the same. “Leaving people to suffer is not compassion, it's cruelty. It's indifference to suffering. It's giving up and that's not something that our government can support,” Smith said..Last fall an Edmonton judge ruled that breaking up homeless encampments were illegal if people didn’t have any place to go. That’s why Smith said the government created more than 1,800 recovery beds in the capital alone.
